Juicy fillet steak with an indulgent blue cheese butter and crispy bubble and squeak fritters. The perfect treat for New Years Eve in together.

Ingredients:-

2 x 250g (9oz) fillet steaks

green salad to serve

For the blue cheese butter

50g (2oz) butter, softened

30g Cornish Blue or Stilton cheese, crumbled

1tbsp snipped fresh chives

For the bubble and squeak cakes

1 large Maris Piper or Desiree potato, peeled and chopped

25g (1oz) butter

75g (3oz) pancetta cubetti or bacon, chopped

1/4 Savoy cabbage, shredded

dash olive oil

Method:-

(1) To make the blue cheese butter, put the softened butter, Cornish Blue, chives and pepper into a bowl and mash together. Place on clingfilm, roll into a sausage shape and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes.

(2) Meanwhile, make the bubble and squeak cakes: boil the chopped potato in boiling salted water until tender, drain, add the butter and seasoning and mash until smooth. Leave to cool slightly.

(3) Meanwhile, fry the pancetta until golden, remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. Add the shredded cabbage to the pan with a splash of water and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, then mix the pancetta and cabbage with the mashed potato. Shape into 4 cakes and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes.

(4) Heat the olive oil in a frying pan, add the cakes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden. Place on a baking sheet in a low oven and keep warm until ready to serve.

(5) Rub the steaks with olive oil and season well. Heat a frying pan until smoking hot and pan fry for 4 minutes on each side for medium rare. Set aside and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

(6) To serve, place the bubble and squeak cakes on plates and top with the fillet steaks. Slice the blue cheese butter into discs, place 3 discs on top of each steak and blow torch, or just pop under a preheated grill to melt the butter. Serve with a large green salad.

Place the ribs meat side down on a cutting board. Locate the thin membrane covering the rack. This membrane can be tough when cooked. To remove, use a knife to gently slide under the membrane then using your fingers, pull the membrane away from the bones.

Season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper then place into a large roasting pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil.

Roast until the meat falls easily from the bones, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.

Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Sauce

To make the sweet and spicy sauce, heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until translucent. Add the cumin and stir. Next, add the Tomato sauce, hot chili sauce, brown sugar and cider vinegar. Stir to combine, season with salt then cook for 2 minutes. Set aside in preparation for the ribs to finish roasting.

Remove the ribs from the oven, discard the aluminum foil and generously brush both sides with barbecue sauce.

Move an oven rack near to the top of the oven. Broil the ribs for 3-4 minutes in the sauce, just until the barbecue sauce begins to caramelize.

As promised here's a recipe from 1606, to celebrate that fact that we are now the largest foodie group in the Selby area. It'sasort of custard thing really!

To make a posset.

"Take a quart of new Cream, a quarter of an ounce of Cynamon, Nutmeg quartered, and boyl it till it taste of the spice, and keep it alwayes stirring, or it will burn to; then take the yolks of 7 Eggs beaten well together with a little cold Creame; then put that into the other Creame that is on the fire, and stir it till it begin to boyle; then take it off and sweeten it with Sugar, and stir on till it be indifferent coole; then take somewhat more than a quarter of a pinte of Sack (half a pinte will be too much) sweeten that also, and set it on the fire till it be ready to boyle; then put it in a convenient vessel, and pour your Creame into it, elevating your hand to make it froath, which is the grace of your Posset; and if you put it thorow a tunnell, it is held the more exquisite way."

Celebrate the seasons! Early autumn days with crisp but cool sunshine and not a whisper of a breeze. What better time to go Blackberrying?

Ingredients:-

250g of blackberries

3 tbsp of water

2 tbsp of icing sugar

1 dash of lemon juice

110g of unsalted butter

225g of digestive biscuits

175g of caster sugar

2 eggs

2 vanilla pods

675g of cream cheese

100ml of double cream

Method:-

(1) Start by making the compote. Place the blackberries, icing sugar and lemon juice in a pan with the water. Bring to the boil and cook the fruit for 4 minutes. Transfer the blackberries and their juices to a bowl and leave to chill in the fridge

(2) Preheat the oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4. Grease the base and sides of the individual tins

(3) Melt the butter in a saucepan and remove from the heat

(4) Place the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin to make breadcrumbs. Mix the crumbs well with the melted butter, and place the mix into the cake tins so the coverage is around 1cm thick. Using the back of a spoon, press down firmly and evenly onto the biscuit until flat to form solid bases

(5) Place the cream, eggs and caster sugar into a large bowl and mix well. Split the vanilla pods and scrape the seeds into the mixture. Add in the cream cheese and beat until smooth

(6) Pour the mixture onto the biscuit bases. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until set

(7) Turn the oven off and open its door, leaving the cheesecakes to bake out for 10 minutes before removing. Allow to cool

(8 )Before serving, add the chopped mint leaves to the compote. Transfer the cheesecakes onto plates and spoon over the blackberry compote